MIGRATORY SPECIES CONSERVATION IN THE LIGHT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Transcription

1 CONVENTION ON MIGRATORY SPECIES CMS Distr: General UNEP/CMS/Resolution Original: English MIGRATORY SPECIES CONSERVATION IN THE LIGHT OF CLIMATE CHANGE Adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its Tenth Meeting (Bergen, November 2011) Recognizing that climate change is already having an adverse impact on migratory species and the phenomenon of animal migration (UNEP/CMS/ScC17/Inf.12); Acknowledging that changes in human activities as a result of climate change, including adaptation and mitigation measures, may have the most immediate negative impact on Recalling CMS Recommendation 5.5, CMS Resolutions 8.13 and 9.7, Resolution 4.14 of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and Resolution 4.14 of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS) on climate change and migratory species, and conscious that their implementation requires urgent attention; Acknowledging the report Climate Change Vulnerability of Migratory Species by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the report of the CMS Working Group on Climate Change, which were presented at the 16 th Meeting of the Scientific Council; Noting with satisfaction the outcomes of the UNEP/CMS Technical Workshop on the impact of climate change on migratory species (Tour du Valat, France, 6-8 June 2011), thanking the Government of Germany for financially supporting the Workshop, and recalling the recommendations submitted to the Workshop by members of the Scientific Council (UNEP/CMS/ScC17/Inf.12); Recognizing that mitigation measures, such as renewable, low carbon and clean energy development, may significantly affect migratory species and their habitats depending on how the installations are sited and operated, and that further research and impact assessments, especially for new technologies, are required; Recalling Resolution 7.5 on wind turbines and migratory species, which, inter alia, calls for the application of strategic environmental impact assessment procedures to identify appropriate construction sites, and instructs the Scientific Council to develop guidelines for

2 the construction of offshore wind farms aimed at minimizing the negative impacts on Noting CBD Decision X.33 on biodiversity and climate change which calls for, inter alia, specific measures for species that are vulnerable to climate change, including migratory species, and recognizing the important role of traditional knowledge and the full involvement of indigenous and local communities in planning and implementing effective activities to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as the need to develop appropriate assessments of ecosystem and species vulnerability; Also noting Ramsar Convention Resolution X.24 on climate change and wetlands; Further noting the Cancun Agreement (1/CP.16 paragraph 4) which recognizes that deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required in order to contain the increase in global average temperature below 2 C above pre-industrial levels, and recalling the need to consider strengthening this long-term global goal on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge, including in relation to a global average temperature rise of 1.5 C; Conscious of the relevance of the research undertaken by IUCN to assess the susceptibility of IUCN Red List species to climate change; and Welcoming the outcomes of the three climate change workshops conducted under the auspices of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to date (Hawaii, USA, March 1996; Siena, Italy, February 2009; Vienna, Austria, November/December 2010); The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 1. Urges Parties and Signatories to CMS instruments and encourages Non-Parties exercising jurisdiction over areas that a migratory species inhabits or is expected to inhabit in the near future due to climate change, to participate in CMS and relevant CMS instruments, in order to promote timely conservation measures where migration patterns have changed due to climate change; 2. Further urges Parties and Signatories to CMS instruments to enable and support the full participation in CMS of those states, where migratory species are expected to occur, in the near future due to climate change; 3. Encourages Parties to develop guidelines on measures needed to assist migratory species adapt to climate change; Management and monitoring of species populations 4. Urges Parties to employ adaptive management measures and the ecosystem-based approach in addressing climate change impacts, and to monitor the effectiveness of their conservation actions in order to guide ongoing efforts; 5. Requests Parties and the Scientific Council, and encourages the scientific community, IUCN and other relevant organizations to: 2

3 a) identify and promote a standardized methodology for evaluating the susceptibility of species to climate change; b) identify those Appendix I and II listed species, as well as other migratory species on the IUCN Red List, that are most susceptible to climate change, such as the polar bear, and subsequently consider whether these should be listed or uplisted on the CMS Appendices, as appropriate; and c) prepare single species action plans for those species listed on Appendix I considered to be most vulnerable to climate change; 6. Urges Parties and the Scientific Council, and encourages conservation stakeholders and relevant organizations to: a) improve the resilience of migratory species and their habitats to climate change, inter alia by reducing other threats in order to maintain or increase population size and genetic diversity; and b) consider ex situ measures and assisted colonization, including translocation, as appropriate for those migratory species most severely threatened by climate change; 7. Urges Parties and Signatories to CMS instruments to develop and implement monitoring regimes that are adequate for distinguishing true declines in populations from transboundary range shifts and for analyzing the impact of climate change on migratory species, inter alia through the following measures: a) identifying and carrying out research on the interactions of climate change and migratory species, including the impact on habitats and local communities dependent on the ecosystem services provided by these species; b) ensuring that monitoring is maintained in the long term, using comparative methodologies; c) communicating and sharing monitoring results regularly with neighbouring and other range states; and d) continuing to identify indicator species as a proxy for wider migratory species assemblages, habitats and ecosystems, following on from preliminary work presented at COP9 (UNEP/CMS/Inf.9.22), with particular emphasis on finding indicators for species that are data deficient or otherwise difficult to monitor; Critical sites and ecological networks 8. Urges Parties, when implementing Resolution 10.3 on ecological networks and related instruments, to improve the resilience of migratory species and their habitats to climate change in order to achieve the following objectives: a) to ensure that individual sites are sufficiently large, holding a variety of habitats and topography; 3

4 b) to strengthen the physical and ecological connectivity between sites, aiding species dispersal and colonization when distributions shift; c) to consider the designation of seasonal protected areas in areas where migratory species occur at critical stages in their lifecycle and would benefit from extra protection; Climate change mitigation and adaptation, and land use planning 9. Encourages Parties and relevant organizations to evaluate and reduce the additional impacts on migratory species resulting from changes in human behaviour due to climate change (the so-called tertiary effects ), such as increased shipping and exploitation in the Arctic ocean areas, which are made possible by retreating ice; 10. Urges Parties and encourages multilateral development banks and the energy sector to ensure that any climate change mitigation and adaptation action, such as bio-energy production or flood protection, has appropriate environmental safeguards in place and that any project is subject to strategic and environmental impact assessment requirements and takes into account CMS-listed species; 11. Further urges Parties to develop environmental sensitivity and zoning maps that include critical sites for migratory species, as an essential tool for selecting sites for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects; 12. Calls on Parties and the energy sector to make the post-construction monitoring of environmental impacts, including those on migratory species, a standard requirement for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, especially wind power, and to ensure that such monitoring continues for the duration of plant operation; 13. Requests Parties and encourages the energy sector to ensure that where impacts on migratory species are significant, renewable energy and other climate change mitigation or adaptation structures are operated in ways that minimize the mortality of migratory species, such as short-term shutdowns or higher turbine cut-in speeds, with regard to wind farms; Capacity building 14. Instructs the Secretariat, subject to available resources, to pursue capacity building initiatives on the issue of climate change and 15. Encourages Parties and relevant stakeholders to make use of available funding mechanisms, such as REDD+, to support the maintenance of ecosystem services, with the close involvement of local communities, in order to improve the conservation status of 16. Calls on universities and other scientific institutions to publish periodic scientific reviews on the following topics and urges Parties to support their production, as far as possible, with a view to ensuring that Parties have access to the best available scientific information on which to base decisions: 4

5 a) the impacts of climate change on b) the potential for conservation management to increase the resistance and resilience of animal populations to climate change; and c) the impacts of anthropogenic climate change adaptation and mitigation on Cooperation and implementation 17. Establishes the position of a COP Appointed Councillor for Climate Change who should prepare a programme of work on climate change, and convene an intersessional climate change working group and instructs the Secretariat to explore funding opportunities in support of this; 18. Requests CMS Focal Points and Scientific Councillors to work closely with and provide national UNFCCC Focal Points with expert guidance and support on how migratory species can be affected by adaptation and mitigation activities, such as renewable energy and bio-energy development, and to collaborate closely in order to develop joint solutions aimed at reducing negative impacts on 19. Requests the Secretariat to strengthen synergies with the Secretariats of the CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD, the Ramsar Convention, the Bern Convention, the IWC and other international instruments, in order to address more effectively the threats that climate change pose to biodiversity, whilst recognizing the distinct mandates and independent legal status of each treaty and the need to avoid duplication and to promote cost savings; 20. Invites the CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD, Ramsar Convention, Bern Convention, IWC and other international instruments such as the Inter-American Convention (IAC) for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to engage in and support CMS work related to climate change; 21. Urges Parties and encourages non-parties to include the measures contained in this Resolution in their national climate change strategies, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and other relevant policy processes, ensuring that mitigation or adaptation activities do not result in a deterioration of the conservation status of CMS-listed species; 22. Requests the Secretariat and the Scientific Council to examine whether provisions of the Convention, including the terms range and historic coverage in Article I, might benefit from interpretations that take account of the requirements of species in response to climate change, in view of the fact that climate change was not explicitly considered when the Convention text was signed in 1979; and 23. Urges Parties and encourages UNEP, multilateral development banks and other national and international donors to provide financial resources for the implementation of this Resolution. 5